


The World Looks So Damn Beautiful

by cloudwatch



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 16:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6761203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudwatch/pseuds/cloudwatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Leo took out a small pad of paper and a pen. "What were you doing on the days of the fourteenth through the seventeenth of last month, the nights of the murders?"</p><p>Takumi thought back to those specific days. He'd been painting those days; paintings for the next art gallery that was coming up, and also pictures of Leo's backside since it had been around that same time that he'd first caught a glimpse of Beautiful Ass Man, but he couldn't tell the cops, especially Leo, that. He thought frantically, and as he was thinking he did what he did best and word vomited, "I was spending the weekend feeding a few of the bodies I had on me through a wood chipper. Best way to get rid of evidence."</p><p>Modern AU in which Takumi is a painter whose next door neighbor turns out to be a serial killer, Leo is the cop investigating to find the killer's partner, and Takumi's growing crush on Leo is not helping his situation at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World Looks So Damn Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> fim gave me the prompt "au where takumi is a painter and leo is a cop" and this is what came of it. i am so sorry
> 
> title comes from one of my favorite songs [i feel fantastic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX23I890Umk) by jonathan coulton

When Takumi had decided to move out on his own, he'd been met with much resistance from his family. Reasons why he shouldn't move out were many, and he was told again and again about the horrors of the world; how people were murdered daily and one never knew when they'd meet a serial killer on the streets, how living on your own was hard, especially since they'd all been together ever since their mother had died; he was told how he'd have daily trials that he'd never expect and it was always best to have family to fall back on. He argued back that he was twenty four years old and could damn well take care of himself and moved out anyway.

 

At the very adult and capable age of twenty four, Takumi had already made quite a name for himself as an artist and money was not something that he was worried about. He'd also been left an inheritance from his parents that he could use at any time if he absolutely needed to, but with his paintings selling as they were, he wouldn't have to worry much about money. One of the reasons he'd moved was because he was unable to paint out in public without getting recognized, and the town he'd decided to move to was small enough that he would be able to paint in private without having to worry. The apartment he'd leased was big enough for him to paint but small enough to feel like a home and it also had an amazing view of the park across the street, with daily inspiration for his next art piece.

 

He lived for a year in that town without too much difficulty. Yes, he did have daily struggles like his family had warned him he would, but it was nothing that he couldn't handle and he was more than ready for any new challenges that he'd face. His childhood friends didn't live too far and he could visit them and his family whenever he wanted, so he felt like he'd been able to put to rest his families worries about him living by himself.

 

As for murderers, what were the chances that he'd ever have to deal with something like that?

 

"So, you're saying that you were completely unaware that your neighbor was committing mass murder right next door to you, at least three times a week?"

 

Apparently the chances of him having to deal with a murderer were high.

 

Takumi slouched in his seat, feeling the cold from the steel make itself home in his skin. "For the last time, no I didn't know my neighbor was killing people; I didn't even know that someone had moved in next door to me, so there's no way that I could have known that she was a serial killer!"

 

The two cops in front of him each raised an eyebrow and shared a look at each other, one writing down a few notes on her notepad and the other turning his gaze to Takumi, the look on his face clearly reading that he didn't believe Takumi one bit. Takumi groaned mentally and covered his face in his hands.

 

He'd been approached by them that morning in the park while finishing a sketch of the trees and the kites flying in the air, and once he'd answered their question in the affirmative that he was Takumi had been asked politely to accompany them to the police station, as they had a few questions for him. He knew that there weren't any warrants out for his arrest, and he didn't have a car so there were no overdue parking tickets, so he had been honestly curious as to why he needed to go down to the station. When he'd been led into an interrogation room and asked about his neighbor, he'd answered honestly.

 

"What neighbor?"

 

He was then told all about his neighbor, a lady named Peri, a lady who worked as a bouncer at a night club, liked to burn things for fun, and who was also a serial killer. As the questions continued, Takumi had to ask, "Why are you asking me about her? You just told me that you caught her."

 

The female cop flipped over to a new page on her notepad. "She had an accomplice."

 

Takumi had stared at them, wide eyed. "Are you... you seriously think that I could be her accomplice? Are you insane?"

 

They did not think that they were insane, not at all.

 

"This would go over a lot easier if you just admitted that you knew her," the male cop was saying.

 

Takumi rubbed at his face. "And I've already told you multiple times, I didn't know her."

 

The female cop opened her mouth to say something, but the door to the room opened and in walked the most gorgeous being Takumi had ever laid eyes on. Short blonde hair, complete with a headband, a frown on his beautiful lips, and carrying in his hand a two cups of coffee, the man walked in and informed the other two that they could leave. He looked vaguely familiar, but Takumi couldn't place where he'd seen him before. The blonde man placed the two cups of coffee on the table and then turned around to guide the other cops out and Takumi's eyes fell down his back and landed his ass.

 

 _Oh, now I remember were I recognize him from, or at least were I recognize that glorious ass from_.

 

As the cop (at least, Takumi assumed he as a cop) turned back around to face him, Takumi forced his eyes towards the window, hoping that he hadn't been caught staring. The man gestured at the second cup of coffee. "Would you like a drink? You've been here a while."

 

Takumi reached for the second cup of coffee, muttering his thanks and trying not to look too long at the man in front of him as he took a sip. Beautiful Ass Man laced his fingers together and placed them in front of him on the desk.

 

"I just have a few questions to ask you," he began and Takumi held back the groan that wanted to escape. "I'm aware that you didn't know your neighbor at all, but I just wanted to ask you if you'd seen or heard anything odd at all during the past few weeks?"

 

Takumi took another sip of his coffee, mentally trying to memorize Beautiful Ass Man's face so that he could sketch it later when he got home; he finally had a face to put on all of the sketches of that amazing backside that he had in his personal sketchbook. "What do you mean by odd? I mean, aside from the man who tries to sell me tickets everyday to his airship that we're going to all have to escape on when aliens decide to invade Earth, I haven't seen much out of the ordinary."

 

Beautiful Ass Man took a sip of his drink. Takumi hoped that his staring wasn't as obvious as he felt it was. "What is it that you do for a living? I need to establish a timeline for when you were out of your apartment so that I can begin plotting a timeline."

 

Takumi shrugged. "I'm an artist, I relocated here because I needed a better muse for my art and I was getting too well known and it was meaning I couldn't paint outside of the house."

 

Beautiful Ass Man (and Takumi _really_ needed to know his name so he could stop calling him that) seemed to freeze. "Takumi as in... the artist Takumi?"

 

Takumi nodded. "The one and only. Why, want an autograph?"

 

A sound left Beautiful Ass Man's mouth that Takumi thought was a "yes" but a second later his throat was cleared and he was speaking again, "I'm familiar with your work."

 

Takumi shot him a grin. "See, you know what I do and who I am; I'm totally not in leagues with a serial killer."

 

"Ah, yes, well," the other man said, his cheeks turning the most adorable shade of red. "I still have to rule you out officially."

 

Takumi's grin slipped off his face and he let his head fall against the desk. "This is just my day," he muttered. A soft chuckle graced his ear and he perked up. Beautiful Ass Man was giving him a small smile, and for some reason that seemed to make up for everything that had happened to him that day.

 

"I can't clear you of being a possible suspect, but I can drive you back home if you wish? I noticed that there isn't a vehicle registered underneath your name, and your address is rather far away from the police station."

 

"That would be lovely, actually," Takumi said, and that was how he found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Beautiful Ass Man's car, looking at him out of the corner of his eye and mentally scolding himself for being so creepy.

 

The car ride was mostly quiet, the radio completely silent, and Takumi didn't make an effort to breach the silence. Eventually the car pulled up to his apartment complex and Takumi took his seat belt off and opened the door. "Takumi," the cop said, causing Takumi to bend down at the door so that he could see them. "I'm going to need to stop by with my partner tomorrow for a few follow up questions, what would be a good time for you?"

 

Takumi thought about what his plans were for tomorrow. _Well, I'm going to paint... and that's about it_. "Eleven will be perfect for me," he said instead, and Beautiful Ass Man handed him a card. Takumi took it and stared down at it, eyes going straight to the name on the card. Leo. L e o. He rolled the name around in his head and then looked back at Beautiful Ass Man Named Leo and smiled. It's perfect for him.

 

"I will see you at eleven A.M sharp, Takumi," Leo confirmed; Takumi shut the car door and watched as it pulled out onto the street.

 

Telling himself that he was incredibly weird for being giddy about getting a visit from a beautiful cop regarding a serial killer investigation, Takumi took the steps up to his apartment two at a time, almost dancing into his apartment and ignoring the yellow CAUTION tape that covered the apartment door next to him. He pulled out his personal sketchbook and strolled over to his window, sitting down on the pillow that he'd set there months ago and flipped open to a new page, intent on sketching the image that he had in his head.

 

Two hours later and three pages filled with sketches of Leo's face (also his front and backside), Takumi placed the sketchbook down. He stared at the sketch of Leo's face and then tossed his pencil away.

 

 

 

 

"I'm not a creepy person," he told the sketch of Leo, "I promise."

 

Naturally, the sketch of Leo's face said nothing.

 

 _Oh no_...

 

***

 

Determined to forget about this not at all possible crush that he had on Leo the Cop, Takumi busied himself with painting the next morning, choosing to create a rose garden as a birthday gift for his sister. Halfway through the process, however, as he was carrying a new can of red paint over to his favorite window, he tripped over his own feet and sent the can of paint flying. "SHIT!"

 

He grabbed the first towels that he could find (naturally, they were white) and began mopping up the paint as best that he could. Once he'd cleaned up all of the paint, he stared at his red stained towels and sighed. "Great, I loved those towels," he mumbled, standing up and heading towards his kitchen. Underneath the sink he grabbed his bleach and a small bucket and rag. He filled up the bucket with water and pored the bleach into the bowel and then moved the bucket over to his towels, getting down on his knees so that he could begin scrubbing out the stains.

 

He lost track of time as he eventually gave up on trying to get rid of the stains, and as he was dumping the towels into the laundry machine, the knock on his front door startled him. Trying to think about who would be visiting him this early (or who would be visiting him at all) Takumi wiped his face with his shirt and headed to the door, the "Hello" dying on his lips when he saw who was standing on the other side.

 

Leo smiled at him. "Good morning, Takumi," he said, gesturing to the other blonde haired man standing next to him. "This is my partner, Arthur. May we come in?"

 

Takumi, mouth still hanging open a little bit, glanced down at his sweats and ratty t-shirt and then back up at Leo. "Uh, sure, um... Pardon the mess, I've had a hectic morning," he said, standing aside and allowing them into his apartment.

 

"Thank you for your gracious acceptance into your humble abode," Arthur said, and Takumi raised his eyebrow at Leo. "I hope that your answers to our questions will allow justice to prevail today!"

 

Leo flushed a bit and Takumi felt those warm feelings decided to start shooting through his body again. "He's... really in love with his job."

 

"I see," Takumi said, not seeing at all but not wanting to question it. He led the two into the main room, watching as Leo looked around the room, eyeing his paintings with interest. Arthur, however, sniffed and then he frowned.

 

"Do I smell... bleach?"

 

Both Leo and Takumi stared at him, and then Leo inhaled as well. "No, I smell it too..." They both turned their gaze on Takumi and at first Takumi didn't understand the significance. And then it clicked.

 

"I-it's not what you think it is, honestly!" He pointed towards the empty can of red paint. "I had a painting incident this morning and I was stupid and used white towels to clean it up, I wasn't trying to hide anything, I promise you!"

 

Leo inclined his head in Takumi's direction. "Just for the sake of honesty, would you mind showing me the towels?"

 

Takumi sighed and led Leo down his hall to where his washing machine sat with the lid still up; Leo leaned over to look at the towels and Takumi pointedly looked everywhere except Leo's ass. "Are you satisfied," he spat out, with much more force than he'd wanted.

 

Leo looked startled, but he stepped back and nodded. "Let's rejoin Arthur so we can finish these questions and then we'll get out of your hair."

 

Takumi rubbed the back of his hair and walked sheepishly back to his sitting room. "What questions did you have?"

 

Leo took out a small pad of paper and a pen. "What were you doing on the days of the fourteenth through the seventeenth of last month?"

 

Takumi thought back to those specific days. He'd been painting those days; paintings for the next art gallery that was coming up, and also pictures of Leo's backside since it had been around that same time that he'd first caught a glimpse of Beautiful Ass Man, but he couldn't tell the cops, especially Leo, _that_. He thought frantically, and as he was thinking he did what he did best to stall and said, "I was spending the weekend feeding a few of the bodies I had on me through a wood chipper. Best way to get rid of evidence."

 

There was total silence as the two stared at him. The hand Leo had holding the pen twitched, and if Takumi hadn't known better he would have believed that the cop was trying hard to not laugh. His partner, on the other hand, was staring at Takumi wide eyed, as though he really did believe that Takumi had been pushing dead people through a wood chipper. Arthur's mouth opened and he inhaled deeply, but Leo held up his hand and stopped him before he could say anything. "Anyway, what were you doing on those days?"

 

Takumi cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say that he'd been painting, promptly remembered that he couldn't tell them that he'd been drawing since he'd been drawing just Leo's ass over and over, and then he remembered that Hinoka had been house sitting for a friend of hers and the lie flew out of his mouth before he could stop it, "I was house sitting with my sister. I can get you her information so you can verify that."

 

 _What the hell are you doing, Takumi_?!

 

Leo handed Takumi his paper and pen and asked for him to give them her name and number. Takumi wrote it down quickly and nearly shoved the paper back into Leo's hand. Leo blinked at him but took the paper. "Thank you, Takumi," he said, heading towards the door, his partner following him. "I'll verify this alibi and if I have any follow up questions, I'll stop by. Let's go, Arthur."

 

Takumi waved them out, fake smile plastered to his face, but the second his door closed on their backs Takumi rushed into his bedroom, hands reaching for his phone. Desperately, he unlocked it and frantically dialed Hinoka's number. "Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up -"

 

" _Takumi_?"

 

"Ah, Hinoka, thank the Gods, okay listen, you're about to receive a phone call from a cop either named Leo or Arthur. When you do, just tell them that yes, I was house sitting with you last month."

 

There was a pause on the other line. " _Takumi, two things. One, why am I going to be receiving a phone call from cops regarding you; two, why am I going to be lying to them_?"

 

"I'll explain later, just do it for me, please!"

 

" _Takumi, what - oh, hold on, I'm getting another call_."

 

Takumi held his breath for what seemed like hours, waiting for his sister to switch back. He paced back and forth in his room, chewing on his nails and wondering if it was too late for him to move into the forest and become a hermit, living off what the land could give him and adopting thirty cats. Eventually, he heard the line switch back and his sister exhaled on the other end of the line. "Was that them?"

 

" _Takumi... what the hell is going on_?"

 

"Well," he said, sitting down on his bed and brushing his bangs out of his face. "It's kind of a funny story when you look at the whole picture. Do you remember when I first moved out and everyone warned me about murderers? Guess what! As it turns out, my next door neighbor was a serial killer and I'm considered a possible suspect as her partner that they still haven't caught, isn't that hysterical?!"

 

Hinoka was silent for a while, and when she spoke up she sounded exhausted. " _I need alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol_."

 

***

 

Two days and a very awkward phone call with his whole family ("No, I didn't actually murder someone, my neighbor did! NO, I did NOT know she was a serial killer but... I don't know if I should be horrified or flattered that you think it's possible for me to actually be a serial killer. I'll go with horrifically flattered, then.") later, Takumi found himself attempting to sketch in the park but was unable to. His mind kept drifting, eyes wandering towards the people in the park, and he found himself wondering if any one of the people in front of him could be the possible partner of his neighbor serial killer.

 

Takumi shifted on the park bench, wincing as his body erupted in pain; he stared down at the picture he was trying to sketch. "Can't really draw anything when my body is hurting this much," he mumbled, but he raised the pencil back to the paper to continue drawing. The previous night, he'd fallen down the stairs while trying to avoid stepping on the tail of one of the cats that lived in the area, and now he had multiple bruises and aches all over his body. I look like I just got into a fight, he'd thought as he'd examined himself in the mirror after his morning shower. He'd wanted to stay in bed all day and do nothing, but there was a gallery coming up in a few months and he needed to finish at least one picture before then.

 

Sighing, Takumi glanced down at the paper only to notice that he'd started drawing a very familiar backside and promptly closed his sketchpad. "Well, I tried," he justified to himself as he packed his supplies into his bag and stood up. Groaning, he placed a hand on his lower back and hobbled his way towards the sidewalk, wanting to get home as fast as possible so he could take a warm bath and relax in bed. He'd barely made it to the park entrance when someone stepped into his path and forced him to stop before they collided.

 

"I'm terribly sorry," the person in front of him said quickly, and Takumi gulped because that voice was familiar. "I - Takumi?"

 

Takumi looked up waved at Leo. "Hello," he said, trying to sound more cheerful than he was feeling. "How are you?"

 

Leo was frowning at him for some reason Takumi couldn't explain. "Not too well, unfortunately. It looks like Peri's partner struck again last night; we found what was left of the new body just this morning."

 

"Oh, wow," he replied, his aches and pains going ignored as he took a moment of silence for the poor person. "I hadn't heard."

 

Leo was still giving him that odd look. "Yes. This person fought to survive, he fought very hard, and whoever attacked him would have physical evidence of the attack on their body."

 

"Oh, really?"

 

There was that odd tone in Leo's voice again. "Yes. This person also fed the body through a wood chipper."

 

Takumi stared at him, and then it clicked. He glanced down at his body full of bruises and let out a hysterical little laugh. "These, no, um... I actually fell down the stairs last night because I didn't want to hurt a cat and the whole thing about me feeding bodies through a wood chipper was seriously just a joke; I _promise_ you, I'm _not_ a serial killer."

 

Leo didn't seem convinced. "Would you mind telling me what you were doing last night?"

 

 _Aside from drawing you, which is all I seem to be capable of drawing at the moment_? "Falling down the stairs to avoid hurting a cat," he said, avoiding eye contact. "I also marathoned _Criminal Minds_ until around two am," he finished.

 

"You watched _Criminal Minds_ all night?"

 

Takumi should have realized that confessing what was already leaving his mouth was probably not helping his case. "... I like shows about murder ..."

 

 _Fuck_.

 

Leo was writing in that little notepad of his when Takumi found the strength to look up again. "Well, if you don't mind, I have a few more questions for y-"

 

"Coffee!"

 

Leo lowered his pad. "Excuse me?"

 

Takumi shifted from leaning on his left leg to leaning on his right, and then back again to his left. "I could really use some coffee right about now, how about you? Let's go get some coffee, I'll buy!" And then he was walking towards the coffee shop on the corner, not bothering to see if Leo was following him. Surely people suspected of murder didn't offer to buy the cops (the hot, beautiful cops with _wonderful_ asses) investigating them coffee, right?

 

Unfortunately (or was it fortunately, Takumi honestly wasn't even sure anymore), Leo had followed him into the coffee shop and Takumi immediately headed for the counter so that he could order his coffee. Leo walked up and stood next to him, reading the menu silently as the nice lady taking his payment said hello to Takumi.

 

"How are you doing on this fine day?"

 

Takumi gave her a strained smile. "I'm fine, and how are you doing?"

 

She shrugged, taking his credit card for the payment. "I'm okay. We've missed you around here; it's been a while since you've come in."

 

Leo was suddenly interested. "You come in here a lot?"

 

Takumi took the card from the lady and thanked her, but before he could answer the lady answered for him. "He used to, he'd sit over in the corner over there and watch all of the people who came and went and then he'd start sketching them; he was the cutest thing to watch when he got focused on his art."

 

Takumi pointedly ignored Leo's gaze, hoping that the smile he'd plastered on his face wasn't wavering. "I'm going to go sit down," he mumbled, and dashed over towards the corner he'd used to sit at when he wanted to have a good view of the people in the shop while drawing.

 

 _And now that I think about it the amount of people watching I do is a little creepy and could be considered suspicious_...

 

Takumi pulled out his sketchpad and flipped open to a blank page, mindlessly drawing so that once Leo joined him at the table, holding both of their coffees, he didn't have to look him in the eye. Leo sat silently across from him, fingers laced, and he opened his mouth twice but never said anything. Takumi pressed harder against the paper.

 

"You people watch too?"

 

Takumi paused in the middle of the line he was drawing; Leo's voice had been softer than it had been when he'd been questioning him about the murders and when Takumi looked up, Leo was giving him a somewhat awkward smile. "I'm sorry?"

 

Leo shrugged. "I just asked if you people watched too. After a long day I sometimes come into this shop and sometimes I find myself just watching people."

 

 _Oh, maybe he won't find my people watching suspicious_. Takumi bit his lip, but ended up speaking anyway, "I sometimes create conversations that they could be having in my head and it can often give me motivation for my art."

 

Leo grinned at him and Takumi almost dropped his pencil. "I do that all of the time, too. Either I people watch or I come in here to read. It's really quiet here during the last few hours it's open."

 

"I used to come in here in the morning," Takumi said, resting his head on his palm. "It was quiet then too, but once it turned summer more high school kids started coming in so I relocated to the park."

 

"I go running in that park in the mornings, I enjoy how quiet it is as well."

 

 _I know, I see you sometimes from where I sit by the pond and then I draw you running_ , Takumi almost blurted out and he sealed his mouth shut.

 

Leo suddenly jumped a bit, as though something had shocked him, and then he cleared his throat. "I, uh, I only have one more question for you," he said, his voice already back to his 'I am a cop, you will listen to me,' tone.

 

Takumi picked his pencil back up and gave Leo a smile. "Okay, shoot," and he hoped the anxiety that just shot through his body wasn't showing on his face.

 

Leo cleared his throat again, but the second he opened his mouth a ringing sound came from his coat pocket. "Ah," he said, looking a little startled at the sudden interruption. "Excuse me." He took out his phone and stood up, walking away from the table as he answered it. "Yes?"

 

Takumi tapped his pencil repeatedly against the table top, his heart pounding as he watched Leo continue to talk on the phone. Why am I even nervous? I know I'm not a serial killer, so there's no reason to be nervous about this phone call. His eyes snapped down at the bunny that he'd been doodling, a drawing that still somehow seemed to look like Leo the longer he looked at it. What the hell?

 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Leo walking back towards him and he quickly covered the Leo-bunny sketch and gave Leo a smile so big that his jaw started aching. "Anything interesting?"

 

Leo snatched his coffee off of the table. "Yes," was all he said, and as he leaned over to grab the key's he'd set on the table earlier, Takumi noticed that the tie Leo was wearing was on backwards. He bit down on his cheek so that he didn't say anything. "I am needed back at the station, but I do still need to finish with you; are you busy this time tomorrow?"

 

"No, not really. I can be here at the same time tomorrow. Until then, I'll just be busy stuffing more bodies down wood chippers," Takumi said before he could stop himself, but instead of Leo staring at him like he really was the serial killer, Takumi was instead graced with the sound of Leo laughing. _Oh Gods_...

 

"Well, since you're the resident know-it-all on stuffing bodies in wood chippers, I'll make sure to come to you with any questions I have." The smile Leo shot him was enough to make Takumi's legs feel weak, and he was suddenly grateful that he was still sitting at the table. "I'll meet you here tomorrow to finish up, then. Have a good evening, Takumi," and with a wave, Leo was heading out the door.

 

Takumi watched him from the window until he couldn't see him anymore, and once Leo was gone from his sight he leaned against the back of the seat and exhaled slowly. "He's way too cute," he mumbled. "I'm so screwed."

 

***

 

To say that Takumi had a problem was putting it lightly. Having a crush on the cop that was investigating you for murder (murders he most definitely did not commit, thank you very much) was destroying his ability to sleep at night, and it didn't help that Leo was almost too pretty to be true, since he'd been unable to draw or paint anything that wasn't Leo most days.

 

He met the officer at the coffee shop like they'd planned the next day, but to his surprise when he'd arrived Leo looked completely exhausted; his head was resting on his arms on the table and his eyes were closed when Takumi approached him. As he'd sat down, Leo had jolted awake, and after an awkward greeting Takumi had expected them to get on with the questioning. Leo did the exact opposite of what he was expecting. He asked Takumi to tell him about his day, stating that he'd had an incredibly rough day and could use a distraction. So, Takumi went along with it and told him about the man who'd approached him earlier in the park with a pamphlet about how the mole people were going to kill them all one day.

 

Throughout the conversation they had for the next few hours, he learned that Leo was an avid fan of history and philosophy, that they had the same taste in music, hated most of the same authors; he also learned that Leo was quite the fan of his art, and that he thought the possibility of Takumi being the partner serial killer that they were searching for was only forty-nine percent, which was something that soothed his worries, at least until Leo finished his sentence, "Most of the staff at the station believes you're the partner, however."

 

After that day, he started running into Leo at the oddest places. They ran into each other at the hardware store, where Takumi was buying rope, duct-tape, a hammer, and a nail gun ("It's for an art project, I _swear_."); they ran into each other at the movie theater where they somehow had seats close to each other during the movie (and Leo had asked the people in between them if they could switch so they could sit together, although Takumi was sure that the people wished they hadn't agreed, seeing as the two of them kept a running commentary throughout the entire movie on how it was against the laws of physics for the characters to be doing what they were doing), and they often saw each other in the park and at the coffee shop.

 

Takumi greatly enjoyed Leo's company, and had he not still been a suspect in the murder case Leo was working, Takumi would have had no problem continuing to meet up with Leo. The problem was that the longer they met, the deeper Takumi's crush grew, until just the mere thought of Leo was enough to send him skipping around his apartment; his art had taken on a more romantic feel, and it was entirely Leo's fault. It was because of his realization of this issue that Takumi made the brilliant decision to stop meeting up with Leo. He switched up his routine during the week, going to places he normally didn't go to, and when he spotted Leo in the park he'd backtrack to the local coffee shop; he ignored the calls from the police department and Leo's personal cell, knowing that his behavior was not helping his case of clearing his name as a suspect at all, but he couldn't help himself.

 

Three days earlier, he'd spotted Leo standing in front of his door, clearly having been there for a while, and Takumi had hid behind the wall, peaking out only a few times to watch as Leo looked down at his watch every few minutes. Leo let out a heavy sigh and Takumi stared just a little bit longer; Leo was alone without his partner, and the dark circles obvious on his face. Gods, he's an amazing muse, he thought, walking away from his apartment to find a place to wait until Leo left his apartment door.

 

Now, after all that Takumi had done to avoid the cop, he found himself in the middle of a dilemma. He'd stationed himself at the local cafe, trying to finish Hinoka's birthday present when Leo stumbled into the cafe, out of uniform, and clutching a hand to his cheek. Ever aware of whenever Leo was near him, Takumi huddled further into his corner, his sketchpad held up to cover his face, but Leo didn't seem to notice him at all; Leo kept the hand on his left cheek and he winced in pain as he got into the line to order food; he bumped into the person in front of him, holding out his right hand as an apology when she turned around and gave him an angry glare. His curiosity getting the better of him, Takumi stood up from his seat and slipped into the line behind Leo. Seeing Leo in pain like he was unsettled him, and Takumi didn't like that.

 

Leo didn't seem to notice him at all, and Takumi furrowed his brows as they moved forward, Leo finally reaching the counter so that he could order.

 

"Um," Leo said, hand still on his left cheek. "Do you have any stew?"

 

Or at least that was what Takumi thought Leo said. His words were slurred a bit and it sounded like he was trying to speak with his mouth full. The lady at the counter looked confused and nicely asked if Leo could repeat himself. Leo let out a huff and repeated what he had said, but this time it was nearly impossible to understand what he was saying. Leo let out a groan and then brought his right hand into his pocket, most likely to get his phone so that he could type what he was trying to say. Smiling at how adorable Leo was being, Takumi reached out and tapped Leo's shoulder to get his attention. Leo jumped and faced him, his eyes widening when he realized who it was.

 

"You were asking about stew, right?"

 

Leo nodded, and now that he could see his entire face, Takumi took note of his swollen cheek and held back his laugh, but the image of Leo as a chipmunk popped into his mind and wasn't leaving.

 

"What kind of stew would you like?"

 

Leo pointed at the little menu telling the different stews. Takumi leaned over and read them off. "Chicken," Leo shook his head. "Beef?" At Leo's nod, Takumi gave the order to the lady and then together they walked over to where Takumi had been sitting. Once they were sitting down, Takumi took a moment to yell at himself mentally for doing this. He'd spent all of that time trying to avoid Leo, but the second he saw him in pain he threw all of that work out the window. _What have you done to me_ , he thought, but it was a fond thought and he hoped that the way he was staring at Leo wasn't too dreamy of a look.

 

Leo was still holding his cheek in his hand so Takumi pointed to it, his finger moving in a small circle in the air. "What's going on there?"

 

Leo took his hand off his cheek. "I had emewgency woot canal," he said.

 

Takumi snickered. "I'm sorry, what?"

 

Leo huffed and tried again, "I had emewgency woot canal."

 

Takumi waved his hand at him. "Okay, okay, I get it. Root canal, just... don't say it again or I'm going to fall into a laughing fit."

 

Leo glared at him, but with his swollen cheek it didn't have the same effect that Takumi was sure he was going for. "'s not fwunny," he said. "I take vewy good cawre of my tweef."

 

Takumi snorted into his cup and Leo somehow managed to look pissed off and vulnerable at the same time. "Maybe you should write down what you want to say from now on?" he said, handing Leo one of his pencils and a spare piece of paper. Leo shot him another ineffective glare but took the offered pencil anyway, hastily writing something on the paper and then handing it back to Takumi.

 

 _I've been trying to get in touch with you for the longest time. How come you never returned any of my calls or never seem to be home_?

 

The light atmosphere between them vanished and Takumi gulped, avoiding eye contact. "Oh, sorry about that. I've been working on some new projects and when that happens I tend to avoid people," he lied. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Leo writing something again.

 

_Oh, that's understandable. I get the same way when I'm working on a case. I had been wondering if I'd done something to offend you._

 

Takumi opened and closed his mouth before informing Leo that no, he hadn't done anything to offend him.

 

Leo continued to write. I _'ve almost cleared your name at the station. I believe we have a new lead on who the partner was._

 

At that, Takumi perked up. "So I'll no longer be a suspect at all?"

 

Leo picked up the pencil but paused. _Technically_ , he wrote. _Your name won't be fully cleared until we find Peri's partner, but no one at the station nor the attorney's office will be looking at you as a suspect._

 

Takumi sighed. "That's a relief. What needs to happen to clear my name? Besides finding the actual killer, obviously."

 

 _Just a few follow up questions about your whereabouts for a few days ago_.

 

"Do you want me to answer the questions now?"

 

Leo shook his head and scribbled on the paper again. _Not yet, my partner is out of commission; he tripped over something the other day and broke his leg, and I'm not going to be able to talk for another day or so. I'll get in touch with you when I can speak to set a time for you to come in to the station._

 

Before Takumi could respond, Leo's order of stew arrived in it's to-go box. He nodded his head at the boy who delivered it in thanks and then gave Takumi as big of a smile as he could and stood to leave. Once he was standing up, Takumi noticed the state of his sweater vest and chuckled. "Hey, Leo?"

 

Leo turned to him, eyebrows furrowed.

 

Takumi pointed at his vest. "Your vest is inside out."

 

Leo jolted and looked down at his vest and then let out an impressive sigh.

 

"Is this a normal thing?" Takumi asked, thinking back to the day they'd had coffee together, and Leo's tie had been put on backwards.

 

Leo shook his head. "It's the pain piwls," he said, hand going back up to cup his cheek as he winced in pain.

 

Feeling for him, Takumi gathered up his things and slipped his jacket on. "How about I walk you home," he said, and when he took in Leo's wide eyes he quickly added, "I know that what they gave you was the good stuff, for all I know you could walk off the road and get hit by a car." Without waiting for Leo to reply, he grabbed the bag of stew out of his hands and exited the cafe. Leo followed him soon after, still looking rather bewildered. "Well, you're going to need to lead the way back to your place, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

 

Still looking incredibly confused, Leo began walking. Like their car ride when Leo had driven him home they didn't speak, Takumi not knowing what to say and Leo unable to talk without sending Takumi into a laughing fit. Instead, Takumi took out his smaller sketchpad and flipped it open to the nearest blank page. Ignoring Leo's interested look he began sketching, needing something to occupy his mind so that he didn't spend the entire walk ogling his friend; as they walked, Leo would sometimes grab his arm to pull him out of the way of someone walking towards them, or when they needed to turn a corner. When Leo stopped next to him and tapped his shoulder, Takumi quickly closed his sketchpad and looked up at the apartment complex they had arrived at. "Alright," he said heading inside. "Let's get you set up."

 

Aware that he was being incredibly rude by essentially inviting himself inside (but also realizing that he didn't really care), Takumi allowed Leo to awkwardly lead him into his apartment. It was a simple apartment, nothing that really stood out, except for the books that Takumi had himself on his own bookshelf. Allowing Leo to take the stew from his hand, Takumi continued to look around and eventually made his way towards Leo's bookshelf. "I think I have almost the same books that you do," he mumbled, mostly to himself and not expecting a response from Leo, so when he heard the strained "Weally?" come from the kitchen he was not prepared and the snicker slipped past his lips.

 

When Leo spoke next he could almost hear the pout in his voice. "Is it weally that fwunny?"

 

Still laughing, Takumi turned around and faced Leo. "Gods, Leo, I swear, if you say 'weally' or any other word again I'm not going to be able to stop myself from laughing."

 

Leo rolled his eyes at him and pulled out his phone, tapping away. Once he was done he held out his phone for Takumi to read; he walked forward and took his phone to read the text.

 

_It's not smart to make fun of the officer investigating whether or not you were involved in multiple murders._

 

Takumi raised an eyebrow at him. "Nice empty threat there, especially since you all but told me I was technically no longer a candidate for the partner of the serial killer."

 

Leo snatched his phone away, typed something else, and then held it out to Takumi again. _Technically_.

 

He and Leo continued to banter back and forth, and Takumi was very grateful that he had this again, that his avoidance of Leo hadn't screwed up their friendship. It was a little odd to be friends with the person who was investigating him for murder, he admitted to himself, but Leo had come to mean too much to him for something as silly as murder to get in the way completely. He spent most of the evening sitting on Leo's couch, sketching absentmindedly while Leo watched Leverage on Netflix. When Leo's head started to nod, Takumi took that as his sign to leave.

 

Leo waved him off sleepily, informing Takumi that he'd be unable to see him for the next few days because of some sort of training he was in charge of, but that they should meet up once he was done and he'd send Takumi a text. Saying goodnight, Takumi agreed and left Leo's apartment to head towards his own.

 

It was only later that night when he was already in his own bed that Takumi realized he'd left his sketchpad at Leo's. The sketchpad that was full of all of the drawings he'd ever done of Leo.

 

"SHIT!"

 

***

 

It wasn't his best idea, he'd admit to that, but the idea of texting Leo and asking to meet up with him to get his sketchpad before he left for the training thing only occurred to him after he'd already broken into Leo's apartment, and since he'd already gone through all of the trouble to break in, he decided to follow through with it. It could never be said of him that he was not a determined person.

 

He remembered that he'd left his sketchpad on the coffee table in Leo's living room, but when he walked in the table was empty. His heart pounding in his ears, he searched the couch, lifting the pillows up and when he didn't find what he was looking for, placing them down again. Takumi ran a hand through his hair, hoping that the pad was still in Leo's apartment and that Leo had simply moved it from the table. He would find his sketchpad before Leo opened it and saw all of the pictures of him; surely Leo would never want to speak to him again if he saw those drawings.

 

Takumi headed down the hall towards what ended up being Leo's bedroom. Flicking the light on, he looked around, hoping to see his sketchbook somewhere in his room, but as it was in the living room, there was nothing to be seen. Leo's room was completely clean, his bed made, and the only thing that seemed like it didn't belong was a sticky note that was taped next to the door, the words MAKE SURE CLOTHES ARE ON CORRECTLY typed in bold lettering. Takumi couldn't help but chuckle at that, "You're absolutely adorable, Leo."

 

After what seemed to be at least an hour of searching, Takumi sat down on Leo's couch with his head in his hands. "It's not here," he whined. Leo must have taken it with him, thinking it was his own or something, and Takumi groaned. "Please don't think I'm creepy," he pleaded, as if Leo could hear him. "Well," he said to himself, "this was a bust."

 

As he was standing up from the couch, fluffing the pillows so it wasn't obvious someone had been in Leo's apartment since he'd left, the front door handle rattled.

 

Takumi froze, watching as the handle rattled again. _Shit. Shit, fuck, shit, fuck, SHIT, FUCK_! He dashed towards the window he'd come in through, slipping out quickly and shutting the window before beginning to climb down the fire escape, just as he heard the door open. He froze on the fire escape ladder, holding his breath with his eyes closed before he slowly started descending the ladder again, hoping that any noise he made was soft enough that it didn't get the attention of Leo, who had obviously come home early for something. Once he made it to the ground, Takumi ran for it and he didn't stop running until he was more than halfway back to his home, and for the last stretch back he ended up speed walking, glancing over his shoulder every now and then, paranoid that somehow Leo knew he'd been in his house and was out looking for him.

 

"That was a brilliant idea," he scolded himself, panting heavily as he unlocked the door to his apartment and slammed the door shut after he entered. "Just break into his apartment, Takumi, A plus idea; instead of getting arrested for murders you didn't commit, you can get arrested for breaking and entering."

 

He was too angry at himself to draw, but too paranoid to leave his apartment, so he ordered pizza and readied himself for a Bones marathon, hoping that within the next day or so, one of two things would happen: he'd feel better and could continue on with his life, or he'd be arrested for breaking into Leo's apartment.

 

Come the next day, no one had broken down his door and arrested him, but he was still a bit too paranoid to leave his apartment, so he dragged his easel over to his window in hopes that he'd be inspired enough to paint something. Takumi spent most of the day dropping his fingers into his paint and flicking them at the easel, completely uninspired because what he really wanted was to make sure that Leo didn't open his sketchbook. By ten pm, he was ready to call it a day and head to bed. "At least it can't get any worse than this," he thought before falling asleep.

 

The next morning he woke up with his air conditioner broken and the thermometer informing him that it was over one hundred degrees outside. "I stand corrected," he said, resigning himself to wearing only a pair of thin sweat pants for the day and relying on the four fans that he had in his closet. He was determined to not let the heat beat him, though, and so he picked up his easel and looked at the design the paint he'd flicked on it the other day gave him. "I can work with this," and he tied his hair up and went to work.

 

He was so engrossed with his (finger) painting that he almost didn't hear the knock on the door. He looked down at his hands covered in paint and then shouted out, "It's open," before he remembered that he'd committed a crime and this very well could be the police coming to arrest him.

 

"I'm glad you're home," Leo's voice called out, and Takumi stiffened. "I need to talk to you about something, where are you?"

 

Takumi gulped. "I'm painting," he replied, listening to each step that brought what was his inevitable arrest closer to him.

 

"It's really hot in here, is everything oka-"

 

Takumi swirled around, greeting Leo's wide eyes with a firm look on his face. Leo was staring at him, but Takumi wasn't going to be intimidated at all. "Yeah, everything's fine. My air conditioner broke and they can't get someone out here to fix it until tomorrow." He paused, waiting for Leo to say something, but Leo was still staring at him. Takumi frowned. "How come you're back from that training so soon? I thought you said it would be a few days?"

 

Leo still said nothing.

 

Takumi cleared his throat, and that seemed to do the trick because Leo jumped a bit and finally locked eyes with Takumi. "You said you needed to talk to me about something?"

 

Leo flushed. "Ah, yes, I do. Um... Sorry, I was distracted." Takumi didn't ask what he could possibly be distracted by, but he motioned for Leo to continue. "I wasn't supposed to be back for another two days, but I got called back because Peri's partner broke into my apartment."

 

The words left Takumi's mouth before he could stop them, "But I thought that you said no one believed I was her partner anymore?"

 

 _FUCK_.

 

Leo's eyebrows furrowed. "Takumi... what are you even talking about?"

 

"Nothing, nothing at all," he exclaimed, a little hysterically, reaching up to brush some of his hair out of his face and it was only once he'd pulled his hand away that he remembered that his hands were covered in paint. "Shit!"

 

Leo jumped. "What?"

 

Takumi groaned and headed towards his kitchen. "Oh nothing, I just got paint in my hair," his voice grew louder the farther away he got from Leo. "Keep talking, I can still hear you." He turned the faucet on and stuck his hands into the sink, washing the paint off and making sure it was gone from his hands before he stuck his head in to rinse off the part of his hair that the paint had gotten on.

 

"As I was saying, a friend of mine that I'd ask to house sit my plants called in a report that my house had been broken into. The place was completely trashed," and at that Takumi frowned, pulling his head out of the sink and grabbing a hand towel to wipe the water from his face. He'd made sure that when he'd left everything had looked the way it had previously. He left the kitchen, releasing his hair from its tie and allowing the water in his hair to drip down his back, the water feeling amazing on his skin with how hot it was. "I didn't come here to tell you about the state of my apartment," Leo was saying when he walked back into the living room, finishing cleaning the water from his face. "I came here to..." Leo trailed off, and when Takumi looked at him Leo was back to staring like he had been when he'd first walked into the apartment.

 

"What is it," he asked, turning to the side so that he would be in the direction of the cool air that the fan was blowing. He wiped the cloth over his mouth one last time before he dropped it on to the floor; he'd clean it up later.

 

 

 

 

Leo visibly swallowed. "I, uh..."

 

Takumi frowned. "Are you okay?"

 

"No, not really," Leo wheezed out, and then he seemed to catch himself, his flush turning a darker shade of red. "I came here for two reasons," he said, reaching into his bag as he spoke. "The first is that you're no longer a suspect at all. We caught the partner."

 

Takumi lunged forward and grabbed Leo's arms. "Wait, are you serious?"

 

Leo gulped and Takumi noticed how close they were to each other now. Oh, okay, you're even more beautiful up close, how is that even FAIR? he thought, reluctantly letting go of Leo's arms and taking a step back.

 

"Sorry, about that..."

 

Leo shook his head. "It's fine, I just... wasn't expecting it, that's all. As I was saying, the person who broke into my house was searching for evidence regarding the case and was really clumsy because she left DNA all over my apartment. It matched the few samples we'd been able to get off of the previous crime scenes. Turns out it was an elderly lady named Cassita who would take care of some of the younger kids in this apartment complex. That's how she and Peri met."

 

"Wow," Takumi breathed, wiping some of the water he'd missed with the towel off of his forehead. Leo's eyes followed his movement almost hungrily. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic I'm no longer a potential serial killer in the eyes of the police but something tells me that's not the only reason you're here."

 

"Oh, right, well," Leo stumbled over his words, reaching back into his bag to pull out Takumi's sketchpad. "You left this at my apartment and..."

 

Takumi had a feeling he already knew what Leo was going to say next. He snatched the notebook from Leo, holding it to his chest like it was a shield. "Oh Gods, how much did you see?"

 

"I'm sorry," Leo said, his voice soft. "I didn't mean to see anything; I know how personal your art is to you, but I dropped it and when I went to pick it up I saw what looked like a picture of me and I was correct. It was... one of many pictures of me..."

 

Takumi's face burned. "I - you... you have a great figure for drawing?"

 

Leo's face turned bright red to match Takumi's. "I do?"

 

Takumi could feel the word vomit coming and was unable to stop it. "Yes, you really do, especially your backside!"

 

Leo looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole and Takumi was pretty sure that the exact look was mirrored onto his own face. He seemed to be making the entire situation worse. Takumi took a deep breath and placed his sketchpad on the nearest counter top, taking a moment to collect himself. Leo shuffled his feet, hands locked behind his back and eyes on the ground, his face still incredibly red.

 

Not being able to take the silence anymore, Takumi spoke first, "I'll come clean. I've thought you were the most attractive person I've ever met since I first saw you," _well, since I first saw your ass_ , "and I've had a pretty solid crush on you ever since."

 

Leo blinked at him. "Wait, you too?"

 

 _What_?

 

Takumi held out his hand. "Back up for a second and repeat what you just said."

 

Leo chuckled, and if it wasn't the hottest thing Takumi had ever heard then he didn't know what was. "I have a pretty solid crush on you too, Takumi. I thought it had been rather obvious by now."

 

"It wasn't, trust me. If it had been, I'm sure that I would have asked to have kissed you by now."

 

At that, Leo tilted his head to the side. "We would have had to wait anyway," he said, unaware of the steps Takumi had taken to bring them closer, "Until you were no longer a suspect, at least. Seeing you as I had been was actually a violation of the police code."

 

Takumi smirked at him. "My name's clear now, though, right?"

 

"Yes, it is."

 

Takumi placed one hand on Leo's waist and pulled him closer so that their chests were almost touching, Takumi needing to tilt his head up just a bit so that he could still see Leo's face. "Would it be a violation of the police code if I kissed you now?"

 

Leo actually took time to think about it. "I'd need to double check the company manual, but - "

 

"Leo."

 

"Yes?"

 

Takumi leaned in, stopping just enough away that their lips were barely touching, his hand traveling from his side to the small of his back. "I'm going to kiss you now, okay?"

 

In answer, Leo leaned forward to press their lips together.

 

Kissing Leo was not like how it had been in his dreams, although he hadn't expected it to be. Takumi hadn't had a lot of experience kissing growing up, and from the way Leo was kissing him he believed the same of him. No matter that their teeth clacked together with how desperately they seemed to press against each other, or that their noses kept bumping awkwardly, Takumi was drawn in to Leo like a magnet. He kept pressing forward until Leo was pushed back against the wall, his hands settling on Takumi's waist and gripping tight.

 

There was something on Leo's shirt that was poking him but Takumi ignored it, pulling away from Leo's lips in order to press four rapid kisses on Leo's neck. "I think," Leo started to say, and Takumi kissed up his neck and back to his lips, "That it was worth the wait, right?" Leo finished in between kisses, and once he'd finished his sentence Takumi pulled away just enough so that they could look each other in the eye.

 

"Well, yeah," Takumi rolled his eyes. "It was worth it, but it would have been so much better if we'd been doing this earlier."

 

Leo unconsciously licked his lips, Takumi leaning forward once again to chase that movement with his mouth. "Yes," Leo said into his mouth, "I definitely agree on that."

 

Their kissing eventually lost the initial intensity, and soon enough, Takumi was just leaning against Leo, foreheads pressed against each other's, with Leo's hands stroking Takumi's arms. "You know," Leo said softly. "Seeing you without a shirt on was..." he paused, looking as though he was trying to find the right words to describe what he'd been feeling.

 

Takumi chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Did I break your brain?"

 

"Essentially, yes."

 

Takumi raised a hand and walked two fingers up from Leo's neck to his cheek; he poked that cheek playfully. "Glad to know I have that sort of effect on you. How's your mouth doing?"

 

Leo turned his head and placed a kiss on Takumi's hand. "Much better, although it's a little tender, so maybe hold back on poking me for at least another day."

 

"I can do that," Takumi agreed, giving the cheek a quick apology kiss. "Better?"

 

Leo's right hand was rubbing circles into his bicep and Takumi resisted the urge to shiver. "Much."

 

That thing on Leo's shirt was still poking into Takumi's skin, so he pulled away to search for it; it was a small feather, probably from a pillow, and he pulled at it to remove it from his shirt. As he did so, he noticed something and let his head fall against Leo's shoulder. "Leo," he said through his chuckle.

 

"Hmm?"

 

"Your shirt's inside out."

 

Leo jumped and pushed him away quickly. "What?" He looked down at his shirt and then groaned. "I don't understand why this keeps happening, I even have a reminder to make sure I don't have anything on wrong before I leave the house."

 

"I know, I saw it," Takumi said without thinking, causing Leo to look up at him curiously. "I-I mean..."

 

"Takumi?"

 

Takumi shook his head, grabbing at Leo's hand. "Never mind," he said. "Let me show you what I've been working on for my submission to the next art gallery. Your input would be very appreciated."

 

As he led Leo over to his easel, he decided he'd tell him the story about his adventure in breaking into his apartment. He was sure that Leo would eventually come to see it as hilarious, at least he hoped. For now, he'd remain quiet about it, watching Leo with a fond look as he examined Takumi's painting. "You know, the situation surrounding how we met and got together is going to pretty much always beat out any other couples' story."

 

Leo glanced over his shoulder and smirked at him. "Because it involves serial killers?"

 

"Well duh," Takumi said, approaching him so that he could lean his head against Leo's shoulder. Leo pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Everything is better when it involves serial killers."

 

Leo shook his head. "I don't know if it's 'better', but it definitely is interesting."

 

Takumi stared at the background that he'd created with his finger painting and hummed thoughtfully. "You know what would be interesting, better, and totally cliche at the same time?" He tilted his head to look up at Leo, batting his eyelashes dramatically once Leo looked at him.

 

"Does it have to do with... art at all? I'm not the most artistic person, so I don't believe that I can give you any input on your picture, and aside from posing, I can't do anything artistic for you...."

 

Takumi shook his head. "No, it actually doesn't have anything to do with art. I was thinking more of Netflix marathon." Takumi took Leo's hand so that he could lead him towards his couch. Leo allowed Takumi to force him to sit down, Takumi watching as Leo sank into the cushion. "Are you okay with that?"

 

Leo raised an eyebrow at him. "Are we going to watch a show about murder?"

 

"Duh," Takumi said, plopping down next to Leo on the couch. "What else would we watch?" Leo leaned against him and Takumi resisted the urge to wrap an arm around his shoulder. "If you don't want to watch muder shows, though, we can watch something else."

 

Leo bit his lip and stared pointedly at the TV. "I'm only on season two of Criminal Minds, if you don't mind watching older episodes."

 

 _Gods, you're perfect_. Takumi turned the TV on settled more into the couch. "I am more than okay with that."

 

As he turned on the show, Takumi felt Leo snuggle into his side and felt warmth fly through his body. He sent out a mental thank you to Peri the serial killer for bringing Leo into his life(well, at least for bringing the front half of Leo and his personality into his life), and Leo raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you thinking about?"

 

"Oh, nothing," he replied, pressing a kiss to Leo's brow. "The world just looks beautiful today."

 

Leo opened his mouth like he was going to reply, but the second he did there was a small sound from behind them that caught both of their attention; when they looked over the top of the couch, one of the fans Takumi had plugged into his wall was burning happily in the corner. "Shit!"

 

Takumi leapt over the back of the couch, rushing towards his easel to pull it away from the fire.

 

"Where's your fire extinguisher?" He heard Leo call out to him.

 

"The kitchen!" he yelled back, looking around for something he could use to toss on the fire. He grabbed the cup of water that he used to rinse off his paintbrushes and tossed what was left at the fire. It did absolutely nothing. "Well, that's perfect," he mumbled, just as Leo bolted out of the kitchen, fire extinguisher in hand. He aimed the little hose and fired, and soon enough the fire was put out, the poor fan sizzling away.

 

Leo, panting from adrenaline, dropped the fire extinguisher on the ground. "The world looks beautiful, huh?"

 

Takumi stared at him, taking in his flushed appearance, messed up hair with the smoke from the fan floating around and couldn't stop himself from bursting out into laughter. Leo seemed startled, and Takumi took the few steps forward that he needed to and pulled Leo into his arms. He pushed Leo's bangs from his face and kissed his lips.

 

"Yes," he said, kissing Leo again and again until Leo was smiling against his mouth. "The world looks _so_ damn beautiful."

**Author's Note:**

> SO YEAH, THAT HAPPENED. i really really hope that you enjoyed, this story just took on a mind of its own and i'm really pleased with how it turned out. also, if you spot any typos or errors, those are all totally on me. 
> 
> the absolutely beautiful art in this was drawn by the [lovely and incredibly talented fim](https://twitter.com/fimyuan)
> 
> please let me know what you thought, your comments and kudos mean a lot to me. also, i can be found on [twitter](https://twitter.com/mikleeo)
> 
> and also [on tumblr](http://soreymikleo.co.vu/)


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